1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure generally relates to cementitious binder compositions, related concrete compositions, and related methods. The cementitious binder includes a cement augmented with particulate glass and a reactive particulate mineral and/or metal salt. The cementitious binder can be combined with aggregate and used to form corresponding (cured) concrete compositions.
2. Brief Description of Related Technology
Concrete, a primary construction material, is the world's most consumed man-made material. About 800 million tons of concrete was consumed in the U.S. in 2007, and the world consumption was estimated at 11 billion tons, or approximately 1.7 tons for every living human being. Production of cement (the binder in concrete) is an energy-intensive and highly polluting process, which contributes about 5 to 8% to global carbon dioxide (CQ) emissions, and accounts for 3% of total (5% of industrial) energy consumption worldwide. Production of each ton of cement emits one ton of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Manufacturing of cement is also an energy-intensive process, which ranks third after aluminum and steel production in terms of energy consumption. Close to 5.5 million BTU of energy is consumed for production of a ton of cement. The energy used for production of cement accounts for more than 90% of the total energy required for production of concrete. In spite of major efforts in recent decades, significant gains in the fuel-efficiency of cement production plants have not been realized.
Growing environmental concerns encourage recycling of the landfill-bound constituents of the municipal solid waste stream, including glass. Waste glass can be conveniently collected in mixed color. Mixed-color waste glass, however, is of limited value in glass production, because it would require a costly color-selective separation step prior to glass production (i.e., to form a recycled glass having a desired single color such as amber, green, colorless, etc.).